Apparatus for reducing antimony ores



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E. KRATZER. APPARATUS FOR REDUCING ANTIMONY DRES- Patgntedqglne 30,1896.

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INVENTOH *6 ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN KRATZER, OF THOMPSON FALLS, MONTANA.

APPARATUS FOR REDUCING ANTIMONY ORES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 563,234, dated June 30,1896.

Application filed June 19, 1894. Serial No. 515,046. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWIN KRATZER, of Thompson Falls, in the county ofMissoula and State of Montana, have invented a new and ImprovedApparatus for Reducing Antimony Ores, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

The object of my invention is to provide a new and improved apparatus toextract antimony from its ores,separate it from the gangue in a simpleand economical manner by sintering the ore, fuming, oxidizing, andcondensing the antimony and collecting it as an oxid of antimony in formof a powder in a common condenser.

The apparatus consists principally of a center or draft furnace havingside-draft holes and a cone or equivalent body in its bottom, the conebeing formed with acenter-draft inlet and a series of channels leadingfrom the inlet to the sides of the cone.

The invention also consists in certain parts and details andcombinations of the same, as will be hereinafter fully described, andthen pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 isa side elevation of the improved apparatus. Fig. 2 is anenlarged sectional side elevation of one of the condensers. Fig. 3 is atransverse section of the same on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is anenlarged sectional side elevation of the center-draft f urnace. Fig. 5is a sectional plan view of the same on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4, and Fig.6 isa similar view of the same on the line 6 (5 of Fig. 4.

The improved apparatus is provided with a center-draft furnace A, (shownin detail in Figs. 4, 5, and 6,) and formed with an outer shell A, madeof sheet metal and lined on the inside with fire-brick A The lowerportion of the furnace is somewhat contracted, and in the top isarranged a charging-pipe B, formed in one side with a door B forintroducing the antimony ore to be treated. The pipe B can be closed atits inner end bya bell B held on a rod B extending upward through thepipe B, to connect at its upper outer end with a lever B, carrying aweight B to hold the bell normally in a closed position.

From the upper end of the furnace A lead the branch pipes 0, connectingwith a cooling-pipe D, extending, preferably, at an angle of aboutforty-five degrees in'an upward direction and for a considerabledistance, to finally connect at its upper end With a condenser E. (Shownin detail in Figs. 2 and 3.) In the bottom of the pipe D are arrangedsuitabledoors D, placed sufficient distances apart and adapted to beopened from time to time for removing any oxid of antimony which mayprecipitate in the said pipe.

The condenser E is provided with a floor E, made of matched boards andset on a suitable framework E and on the top of this floor E are set aseries of transversely-extending frames E over which is stretched canvasE of a fine mesh, to permit sulfuric acid to escape, but to prevent theescape of antimony fumes, so as to precipitate the antimony in the shapeof the oxid of antimony in a white powder form on the floor E. The endof the condenser E, opposite the inlet of the pipe D, is connected by abranch pipe E with asecond condenser E, similar in construction to thecondenser E, and any number of such condensers may be connected witheach other to completely precipitate all the oxid of antimony containedin the fumes.

The lower end of the furnace A is set on a suitable base F, and isformed near the same with large draft-openingsAi opening upon the baseof a cone or a pyramid H, arranged in the bottom of the furnace A, andbuilt on the base F, as plainly shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6. Through thebase F extends a draft-channel H, leading to a vertical channel Harranged centrally in the cone or pyramid H, and from this draft-channelH lead two sets of horizontally-extending channels H and H to the sidesof the cone or pyramid, so that air from the outside can'pass to thesides of the cone to create a center draft in the charge contained inthe furnace A. Additional sets of draft-holes A A A are formed in thesides of the furnace A, and located one above the other, the outer endsof the said draft-holes I being closed by suitable covers G.

In using the apparatus the'furnace A is charged with the antimony oreand charcoal or other suitable fuel, and as the antimony ore contains alarge quantity of sulfur, the mixture will readily burn within thefurnace, to cause the antimony contained in the ore to change into fumeswithout melting. The fumes-arising in the furnace A- pass through thebranch pipes 0 into the inclined pipe D,

in which the fumes cool without concentrat ing, to finally pass into thecondenser E, in which the oxid of antimony is precipitated in the formof a fine whitepowder on the floor E, while the sulfur and other gasescan escape through the meshes of the canvas sides,- walls, and top ofthe condenser E. It will be seen that by the arrangement de-' scribed asufficient amount of air is supplied to the center and the sides of thecharge, so as to cause a uniform sintering of the ore without creatingtoo intense a heat, allowing the .antimony to be converted into fumes,without melting and matting the gangue, causing a cheapand economicalseparation of the .ore from the gangue without the aid of fluxes orforced draft. .Having thus described my invention, I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent-- which the upper ends of said pipesconnect, a series of doors in the lower side of the cooling-pipe and acondenser into which the up- .per end of the cooling-pipe discharges,substantially as described.

2. An apparatus for reducing antimony, comprising a furnace formed inits sides with draft-holes, a cone extending into the bottom of the saidfurnace and formed'with draftchann'els leading to the sides of the cone,branch pipes leading from the upper end of the said furnace, an inclinedpipe into which discharge the said branch pipes, and a condenser intowhich :discharges the upper end of the said inclined pipe, the condenserbeing formed with a solid floor and canvas sides, ends and top,substantially as shown and described.

3. In an antimony-ore furnace,-a condenser formed of'a series ofparallel'frames5a wooden 'bottom therefor, a'fab'ric covering stretchedover said frames and forming the top, sides and ends of the condenser,and pipe connections in the opposite ends of-said condenser for theinlet and outletpipesysubstantially as described.

EDWIN KRATZER Witnesses:

W. E. LINDEN-BORN, E. A. GOODGHILD.

